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10/11/2011

Not only am I obsessed with health, I also love getting involved with investing! Have you looked into gold and silver prices lately? With our depreciating dollar, I thought I would take a risk and put my money where it could possibly appreciate. I was right!

Four years ago a close friend of mine turned me on to investing in precious metals, such as gold and silver. I'm not talking about gold and silver notes, such as the beautiful smelling greens in your wallet. Rather, physical tangible objects of value. In fact, these metals were often the only form of trade and have sparked numerous civil and international wars over the last two centuries!

How do you know who to trust? My friend and I invested in a seemingly trustworthy company. The process was flawless. Based on our purchase amount, we were told our investment would arrive in 6-8 weeks. If the company was unable to deliver the product because of high demand, it would return our investment for the full purchase price. Alternatively, it would offer the amount earned from the increased value of the investment. It sounded like a win-win situation!

After buying our precious gold and silver investment, we just waited. I found myself constantly watching the gold and silver markets. Every breath I take, every move it makes, I was watching. But it was fluctuating for the good! Even before the goods arrived, the return on investment was promising. I felt like a wise decision had been made, and I was feeling good.

History lesson

Have you ever heard about the gold standard? Let's say you have $1000. Way back when you would be able to exchange that $1000 for $1000 worth of gold, they would have the same value. But today, $1000 would not even be equivalent to an ounce of gold. As we all unfortunately know, our beloved dollar has tanked on an international level, and now gold is at an all-time high.

Here is a graph showing the appreciation of gold in the last year: (click on graph to enlarge)

The Nixon Shock put an end to the monetary system on August 15, 1971, and the governments all over the world printed money like club promoters sending out text messages, or even worse uncontrollable gas coming from a 90-year-old. It was uncontrollable! Article

Why now?

There is a limited supply of gold and silver. Sound familiar to a certain famous gemstone? (Think Tiffany's) I believe the prices are low because gold and silver suppliers are depressing the value of such metals by withholding them, obviously for their own economic benefit. Eventually, prices will skyrocket, and it will be cheaper to burn money than to purchase firewood. But of course, this is purely my opinion...

My logic is this: With war, high inflation, economic downturn, depreciation of the dollar, and business failures, why not invest into something that is tangible? It seems safer to me to buy gold, which as for centuries has value, rather than the dollar that goes up and down based on the current President. Not to mention other factors that I have not delved into such as, scared third world countries hoarding gold in self-preservation, fear, greed, and other unfortunate characteristics of human beings.

How about that stimulus package Barack Obama signed in February 2009? Gold prices moved 6.4% from $967 per ounce prior to the passage of the bill, to over $1001 after the bill was signed into law. Although I did not completely support the stimulus package, it is pretty amazing the effect it had on the gold market. Article

This graph might not look promising to some of you. But connect this 5-year graph to the one above (click graph to enlarge)

From March of 2003 to March 2010, it looks much more promising, isn't it?

Jason Hommel, an extremely outspoken silver guru (as I like to call him), has said, "Three more major silver dealers are reported to be out of silver today: The US Mint, Kitco, and Monex. This, on top of the major dealers yesterday, Amark, Perth Mint, CNI Numismatics, and APMEX all reported sold out. Further, nearly all of Canada is reported to be out of silver, from Vancouver to Toronto." Who would have thought that we could run out of silver? I find this so fascinating, don't you?

What happens with supply and demand? When the demand goes up prices rise. When supply runs out prices rise. This is why it is very important to purchase real precious metals and not fluctuating notes when investing.

Notes

If you don't understand a note. Pull out your wallet. You see those crisp dollars you have? Those are notes. It's a piece of paper stating you have something when in all reality, it's just a piece of paper. What if the government says your dollar isn't worth anything? What would you do? Don't think it hasn't happened before, because it has. Investing in precious metals gives you leverage, which over time gives you control. You have something to show for it! You own the commodity!

Safety measures

If you do decide to invest in gold and silver, do not leave it lying around in your home. Put it in a bank safe and lock it up! Don't risk having it in a home safe or storing it under your mattress. There are places that ensure your precious metals for the full value price.

When the dog pile hits the fan, you and your family will be protected by your investment. The one thing you have to realize is that silver is extremely heavy!!! I'm not kidding! I'm in pretty good physical shape and I had a hard time lifting the bag of silver I received. Gold is lighter, easier to hide (especially if it comes to crossing borders if you get my drift.) Don't be afraid to over plan for your future. There is nothing like being prepared to protect yourself and your family, priceless.

Where to purchase

I will only vouch for one place. I purchased my gold and silver through Northwest Territorial Mint. WEBSITE Their customer service was great, easy to work with and follow through with the demand of orders placed.

What can you afford?

If you think that you can't afford to invest in gold and silver at this time, I suggest you start small. Save and have a little faith. This could be one of the best investments you could ever make.

03/23/2011

If you're someone like myself that wants to help Japan but is hesitant to donate towards an organization such as the red cross, I found three organizations that will set your mind at ease about where your money really is being applied.

Yoshi Domoto, executive director of the Japan-America Society of Georgia, said his group has done research to find organizations in Japan that they will help directly, including the Nippon Foundation, Japan Platform and the government of the Miyagi prefecture, the area that was hardest hit by the disaster.

There has been a continuous push from Atlantans and others around the world to offer help, he said, because of the many connections Japan has created in the world community.

“No matter where you are, there is a feeling of wanting to help, to support the relief effort,” he said.

But Japan has been slow to accept help. “The people in Japan historically have been resilient,” said Domoto. “They are proud; unless they need it, they hesitate to ask for help from the outside.”

Domoto said his organization, which has 750 members, including individuals and organizations, has raised $20,000 so far and is continuing to sponsor fund-raising events.

If you don't have any money to donate, a letter of support would probably be just as appreciated. If you want to send a letter of support, send your letters to: (Each bullet point is the order to how you address your letter on the envelope.

Letter of support for Miyagi prefecture

3-8-1, Honcho, Aoba-ku,

Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8570

JAPAN

The address above is for the Miyagi prefecture government. Sending positive letters can make a difference. How would you feel if you received one during a traumatic experience?

02/07/2011

Alfalfa is one of the most important legumes used in agriculture. The primary use of alfalfa is for:

Dairy production

Beef

Sheep

Horses

Goats

Human consumption

The US is the largest producers of alfalfa in the world. California, South Dakota and Wisconsin are the US's largest state growers.

In addition to the list above, NAAIC states alfalfa also has begun to be used as a bio-fuel for the production of electricity, bio-remediation of soils with high levels of nitrogen, and as a factory for the production of industrial enzymes such as lignin peroxidase, alpha-amylase, cellulase and phytase. Article

The USDA recently approved Monsanto's genetically engineered alfalfa to be planted. My question is, what's going to happen to the organic consumers? With the uprise of organic dairy feed, the only beneficial party will be the conventional consumers.

Not only will the organic consumers not benefit from the G.E. crops, the USDA won't even keep track of where the crops will be planted.

If any G.E. crops are planted with in a 5 mile radius to any organic crops, possible contamination can occur. Not only will the organic farmers lose their crop if tested positive for G.E., Monsanto will have zero responsibility for any loss of business that may occur that's related to the G.E. contamination.

With zero regulations put on these G.E. crops, this could be the end of organic food altogether. Tomorrow benefits of alfalfa.

08/19/2010

I recently had a girls night when everyone wanted to order Chinese food for dinner. Happy to say, I brought a Tupperware of Spicy peanut butter ginger kale. One of my friends asked me what they should order. Of course my response was nothing, but if you have to order, order the spicy peanut shrimp. I can honestly say I had no idea what to order unless it was steamed vegetables which were probably drenched in pesticides as well. When the food came, I tasted the shrimp and boy was it delicious! So delicious I was scared of it. My curiosity sparked regarding Chinese imported food.

The next morning I checked my email finding a message from my step father about food imported from China. It really bothers me how the US still allows food in the states that is imported from China.

Did you know there are no health regulations with any of their food development or processed foods? The food we are importing is increasing in huge numbers. In 1995 we imported $800 million worth of seafood and agricultural products. In 2006 it was $4.1 billion!

Documented data

Download CRS REPORT April 2007, the FDA stopped the shipment of nearly 850 imported shipments of foods containing grains, fish, vegetables, oils, spices, nuts and other unsafe foods that were contaminated with pesticides to salmonella. Oh and that's just from inspecting 1.3% of the imported foods from China. What happens to the other 98.7% that's reaching us American's? Most of the food we consume has traces of pesticides on or in it. So if the FDA was alarmed about pesticides on China's products, that's something to be scared about.

In June 2007 the US banned 5 types of fish and shrimp from China. Our inspectors found traces antibiotics and cancer-causing chemicals in the products.

The US has been stopping at least 200 imported shipments of Chinese food per month. It either has to be destroyed or shipped back.

December 2009, the US and China signed an agreement that places new requirements on only 10 food products exported by the Chinese companies. The products include some farm-raised fish, some preserved foods and pet foods, all these foods are under suspicion of being purposely tainted.

This is a small list of foods originating from China imported to the U.S.

Apple juice

Dried fruit used in cereals

Dried Garlic

Pine nuts

Mandarin oranges

Confections/ candy

Cocoa butter

Hog guts bladders stomachs for sausage casings

instant coffees

frozen catfish (usually contaminated with illegal veterinary drugs)

fresh ginger (drenched in pesticides)

melon seeds (cancer-causing toxins)

Dried dates

mushrooms

onions

canned black beans

canned kidney beans

peas

peppers

pickled radish

bamboo shoots

Napa cabbage (used in Chinese cuisine)

ginseng

pastries

backed goods

soy sauce

tofu

beer

liquor

Make sure your pet food is not from China. FDA isn't sure what ingredients China uses for their pet products and foods. Some of you may remember the largest recall of pet food in the US history. It was because of the wheat gluten from China that contained melamine. This wheat gluten was shipped to over 100 brand name foods. I believe Hundreds of dogs and cats died in a result of China's ignorance, greed of being cheap, irresponsible and possibly a hidden conspiracy behind poisoning our beloved family members foods.

Stay away from all processed foods! Eating fresh whole foods will almost guarantee your chances of not consuming products from China.

What to look for when shopping.

Look at the bar codes before purchasing our foods. Stay away from any bar codes with the first 3 digits being 690 through 695. Any number with or in between that range is MADE IN CHINA! Here is the list of country's imported food bar codes.

Prefix

GS1 Country

000 - 019

GS1 United States

020 - 029

Restricted distribution (MO defined, usually
for internal use)

030 - 039

GS1 United States

040 - 049

Restricted distribution (MO defined, usually
for internal use)

050 - 059

Coupons

060 - 139

GS1 United States

200 - 299

Restricted distribution (MO defined,
usually for internal use)

300 - 379

GS1 France

380

GS1 Bulgaria

383

GS1 Slovenia

385

GS1 Croatia

387

GS1 BIH (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

400 - 440

GS1 Germany

450 - 459 &
490 - 499

GS1 Japan

460 - 469

GS1 Russia

470

GS1 Kurdistan

471

GS1 Taiwan

474

GS1 Estonia

475

GS1 Latvia

476

GS1 Azerbaijan

477

GS1 Lithuania

478

GS1 Uzbekistan

479

GS1 Sri Lanka

480

GS1 Philippines

481

GS1 Belarus

482

GS1 Ukraine

484

GS1 Moldova

485

GS1 Armenia

486

GS1 Georgia

487

GS1 Kazakhstan

489

GS1 Hong Kong

500 - 509

GS1 UK

520

GS1 Greece

528

GS1 Lebanon

529

GS1 Cyprus

530

GS1 Albania

531

GS1 MAC (FYR Macedonia)

535

GS1 Malta

539

GS1 Ireland

540 - 549

GS1 Belgium & Luxembourg

560

GS1 Portugal

569

GS1 Iceland

570 - 579

GS1 Denmark

590

GS1 Poland

594

GS1 Romania

599

GS1 Hungary

600 - 601

GS1 South Africa

603

GS1 Ghana

608

GS1 Bahrain

609

GS1 Mauritius

611

GS1 Morocco

613

GS1 Algeria

616

GS1 Kenya

618

GS1 Ivory Coast

619

GS1 Tunisia

621

GS1 Syria

622

GS1 Egypt

624

GS1 Libya

625

GS1 Jordan

626

GS1 Iran

627

GS1 Kuwait

628

GS1 Saudi Arabia

629

GS1 Emirates

640 - 649

GS1 Finland

690 - 695

GS1 China

700 - 709

GS1 Norway

729

GS1 Israel

730 - 739

GS1 Sweden

740

GS1 Guatemala

741

GS1 El Salvador

742

GS1 Honduras

743

GS1 Nicaragua

744

GS1 Costa Rica

745

GS1 Panama

746

GS1 Dominican Republic

750

GS1 Mexico

754 - 755

GS1 Canada

759

GS1 Venezuela

760 - 769

GS1 Switzerland

770

GS1 Colombia

773

GS1 Uruguay

775

GS1 Peru

777

GS1 Bolivia

779

GS1 Argentina

780

GS1 Chile

784

GS1 Paraguay

786

GS1 Ecuador

789 - 790

GS1 Brazil

800 - 839

GS1 Italy

840 - 849

GS1 Spain

850

GS1 Cuba

858

GS1 Slovakia

859

GS1 Czech

860

GS1 YU (Serbia & Montenegro)

865

GS1 Mongolia

867

GS1 North Korea

868 - 869

GS1 Turkey

870 - 879

GS1 Netherlands

880

GS1 South Korea

884

GS1 Cambodia

885

GS1 Thailand

888

GS1 Singapore

890

GS1 India

893

GS1 Vietnam

899

GS1 Indonesia

900 - 919

GS1 Austria

930 - 939

GS1 Australia

940 - 949

GS1 New Zealand

950

GS1 Global Office

955

GS1 Malaysia

958

GS1 Macau

977

Serial publications (ISSN)

978 - 979

Bookland (ISBN)

980

Refund receipts

981 - 982

Common Currency Coupons

990 - 999

Coupons

Some products from China are actually packaged in Canada. So watch out for boxes that say "Product of Canada" The ingredients is shipped to Canada to be processed and packaged. This is especially prominent in fish products!

Make sure not to purchase anything made in Hong Kong. I heard Chinese companies are using Hong Kong addresses to try to discreetly fool consumers to keep purchasing there products.

There is so much information on the web about imported goods. Be aware what you are feeding your family. Your children, pets, friends, when coming over to your house are trusting your integrity not to feed them poison and to be aware what you are bringing into your home. Please, please, please stop purchasing food products from China. The US will not stop buying until you stop first! Be a leader, not a follower. Protect your family as I plan on protecting mine. Thanks for reading and for understanding my passion for wanting you to live a healthier, happier, longer life. xxx <3 A&L